Through a path sometimes glorious, sometimes humble, a major part of Latin literature has survived the Middle Ages and has acquired a new life, according to the different historical moments that characterized each area of Europe.

The aim of this panel is to explore how medieval authors have dealt with the classical heritage within their own cultural context. On the one hand, we will look at what type of classical texts they had at their disposal, what textual tradition was known to them, and how this tradition moved from one place, library or scholar to the other.

On the other hand, we aim at an in-depth evaluation of the role of classical models in medieval works. This enquiry could illustrate different degrees of exploitation of classical texts: from systematic excerption to scattered quotations naturalized in different frameworks, from the reshaping of biographies, political and philosophical treatises to the reuse of poetical patterns in order to convey new values.

Making sense always implies a multiple perspective. The goal of this panel is to encourage the interaction between different points of view – historical, philological, literary, philosophical, scientific – in order to get a better understanding of the cultural background through which the Classics had to pass before reaching us.

Topics for papers may include:

Manuscript traditions of classical texts from Late Antiquity to the Late Middle Ages

Latin classics in medieval libraries

Medieval scholarship on Latin classics

Classical authors in medieval florilegia

Scattered quotations in medieval works

Reuse of Latin classics in literary, philosophical and scientific works